January 12, 2012

It had been a long day and it is late so the best I can offer is a video from Drew Network (he once filmed a roast of my friend Bill for his 1000 video in which I was featured). I don't think I shared that. Off to bed with me, hopefully I will find some time to write before the game tomorrow.

January 10, 2012

Ok, first let me apologize for the brevity of yesterday's post but I had the hardest time giving blood since that very first time when I was 17 and lied about both my age and my weight because I wanted to give blood so badly. Last night wasn't as bad as all that but I think I psyched myself out. I am the biggest psychosomatic person ever. I used to leave the doctors and have to lean against the wall of the elevator on the way down to my car as the anxiety and adrenaline that I had built up finally released along with my blood pressure making me feel dizzy (I have never actually fainted but think I know it is what is coming next). The blood drive was in one of those converted buses and so I was fascinated watching someone across from me give blood and decided to glance down at my own bag -- next thing I knew I could no longer focus. I muttered something along the lines of "uh oh". One of the hardest things for me to overcome last night was the reaction of saying "I'm fine" when they asked how I was. "These are medical professionals, Jasmine, and they had just watched you turn pale as your blood pressure dropped tell them what you are really feeling". So I shook my head no and they helped me through it. I had already given the full pint they just made sure I got some sugar in me (in the form of cranberry juice) and didn't get up too quickly. They took care of me. And I struggled to tell them how I was truly feeling along the way. Do you ever want to lie to avoid complaining? I kind of hate the fuss and had to have that inner dialogue to let them help me which clearly I needed.

Carole's theme for the week is soup. More specifically, what are my favorite kinds of soup. In the winter, I usually make a pot of soup and a pot of beans every weekend to supply lunches throughout the week and so soups have a special place in my cooking repertoire. They even have their own cookbook (one of those three ringed binders with plastic sheet covers for each new recipe, they are great if you are looking for recipe organization. I love the easel backs!) on my recipe bookshelves.

Campbells Vegetarian Vegetable -- this was the soup that my mother gave me as a kid when I was sick and it is comfort food to me. This is their vegetarian version of alphabet soup.

This recipe for basic vegetable soup by Leanne Ely It tastes a lot like my ultimate comfort food above and yet is so adaptable and allows for so many variations. Plus it is super low calorie. This recipe is for a crock pot but I adapted it for the pressure cooker and so for me I spend more time chopping than cooking.

The carrot ginger soup pictured above often makes it into the rotation. Speaking of which, I really need to add the older recipes to my new recipe page

I regularly find myself making some variation of cheese and broccoli soup

I love gazpacho in all it's forms but often make a variation of a cooking light recipe for Gazpacho with roasted red peppers. I couldn't find it on my recipes, I will have to post my variation next tomato season.

When the fridge overflows with greens I usually make an Italian White Bean and Greens soup. The original recipe came from the South Beach Diet but anyone who knows me can tell you I probably don't follow it.

Lobster Bisque I have never made this (who has spare lobster hanging around) but love to order it in a restaurant

Cream of Crab from Union Street Public House. But they have taken it off the menu. What now?

Corn Chowder Endless variation and a great way to use the summer corn

Borscht This one, for me, is a memory more than anything. Driving out to the Eastern Shore and eating this new (to me) food as prepared by the mother of a guy I had a huge crush on. I may have to make some soon although the beets never stay around long enough to make soup since I seem to be putting them in everything these days.

January 09, 2012

Today's lack of content is brought to you by the Red Cross and the resultant lightheadedness. If you haven't donated blood in the past 56 days and you are eligible to donate, go make an appointment. See you tomorrow.

January 08, 2012

It isn't possible to grow everything in every climate, or it is but it just isn't practical. The British nobility would grow pineapples in glasshouses heated by furnaces as long ago as the 18th century but this doesn't mean that it is the best use of resources. [click on the article it is fascinating] This truly is a case of eating local being an elitist activity.

One of the things that I tend to eat often and doesn't grow so well in the heat and humidity (mostly it is the humidity) is dried beans. I have been unable to find a local source of anything but fresh beans and that season lasts about two weeks in the summer. (Traditionally beans are left on the plant to dry and in the humidity of the area they tend to mold). Because of this, I am always trying to find new small farm sources for beans. Rancho Gordo is a great source for heirloom beans grown in California and Mexico (by small farmers trying to protect varieties that have lost favor). And I tend to make one or two big orders of beans each year. But this December, through the Foodzie Tasting Club, I discovered Zursun Idaho Heirloom Beans and used them in this weeks challenge meal.

Last time I was at Arrowine spending a Living Social deal, I picked up some Chicken Sausage with Hatch Green Chilies made by Simply Sausage. A local sausage company that is constantly being hyped by my Slow Food convivium. So I cooked some of this up and served it with roasted beets, carrots and green lentils. All I can say is yum.

Roasted Beets and Green Lentils

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 80

Ingredients (serves 6)

9 oz uncooked beet greens, peeled and chopped

5 1/2 oz Carrots, chopped

1 3/4 oz uncooked shallot(s), peeled and halved

3 Tbsp olive oil, garlic flavored

1 tsp dried thyme

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

3/4 cup(s) dry lentils

1/4 cup(s) parsley, chopped

Instructions

Sort and rinse lentils in cool water and drain. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

January 07, 2012

Continue my tour of Virginia Wineries: My partner in wine is out of the country for a couple of years and unable to get to many of the Virginia wineries and so I hope to continue our quest solo and hopefully document it here.

In order to help keep track of this goal, I thought I would add a winery page to the blog and link in the side bar where all of these trips and notes could be posted. I will list the wineries there (wineries I have been to are marked with an *) and link to them as I write reviews. So if you are interested in Virgina Wineries, go check it out.

January 06, 2012

Today is my last day of vacation. Yes, I don't have to go to work this weekend but somehow that doesn't count.

When I woke up this morning, after a night of fitful sleep filled with crazy nightmares that made no sense, I thought it was Saturday. You can't believe the relief when I figured out I had one more day of vacation.

January 05, 2012

In 1946 Aaron "Bunny" Lapin figured out how to put whipping cream into a single use aerosol canister and make whipped cream. In so doing Reddi-wip was born and he became a multi-millionaire. National Whipped Cream day commemorates his birth in 1914.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a weakness for whipped cream. If a dessert menu has berries and cream (whipped or otherwise) as an offering, I will be ordering it. If you are sharing a dessert with me it is likely that I will steal all of the whipped cream while you aren't looking and leave you that lovely looking pie. The girls from supper club know they can call me at the last minute and request that I bring some "whippy" to top whatever marvelous dessert they have whipped up because I have a spare can in the fridge.

Yes, fresh hand whipped cream is the best but as a single girl (watching my figure) keeping a canister of aerosol whipped cream in the fridge is much simpler and allows me to indulge a little more often then if I had to wait for partners in crime or eat the whole carton of cream before it spoils. So, thank you Mr. Lapin for figuring out an easy way for me to have whipped cream on hand at all times. Now, I prefer Cabot because it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it (no matter what the corn lobbyist people tell me, I don't think that counts as food).

For a quick little celebration of National Whipped Cream Day, I sauteed up some apple slices in some lemon flavored olive oil with a teaspoon of sugar. [Do you all have these olive oil/balsamic vinegar stores where you live? We have two that I know of around here Olio [review here]and the other is Ah Love Oil & Vinegar. Is this the new thing?] Sprinkled the soft, warm apples with some chopped up walnuts and served them with a side of whipped cream. A wonderful semi healthy dessert to celebrate!

January 04, 2012

So, the Washington Capitals won last night bringing their winning streak to 4 (can you call 4 games a streak?) the first time they have one more than 2 games in a row in the last two months. Will they finally play to their potential?

I am often asked about my devotion to hockey and the Washington Capitals. Having grown up in the South people are surprised to find that I have such a devotion to a team and a sport. If you ask me about football or basketball or soccer, I know very little and have no allegiances, I am by no means a sports fan but there is this hockey thing...

I think my dad took us to a game or two in the seventies but in my house growing up we watched football. When my high school football team went to state in Junior year we talked of driving down to Hampton but that was more social than anything. And yet, hockey.

When I headed off to college I initially selected a former women's college that had gone co-ed. The school's benefactor had made it very clear that she did not want anything to be divisive and she wanted equity in everything. If the school was to start a football team for the men then they would need to start one for the women. The consequence of not following this suggestion would be she (or her estate) would pull all funding. We never had a football team but we did have the first woman's varsity hockey team in the country. But I couldn't stay there and took some time off where I was living in cabins heated by wood stoves and teaching ice fishing, my friends and coworkers used to bob sled with the Jamaican Bob Sled team in Lake Placid -- I wasn't in VA anymore (whose life is this anyway? if I hadn't lived it...)

When I returned to school it was in Vermont. Another school with no football but men and women's varsity hockey. I dated a guy (for 6 years) who had grown up playing from the time he could skate. It was early snowy mornings to the rink. He even played a bit in college and at some point while we were dating he was an assistant coach for a pee wee team. We would watch some hockey and I would always root for the Caps -- they were definitely still an underdog team although they had improved from those first few years in the 70's. My company sponsored boards at Gutterson where the Catamounts played and I often was allowed to use those tickets. Those were the years of Martin Saint Louis, Tim Thomas and Eric Perrin (all who have a stanley cup win to their credit). UVM made it to their first frozen four. It was exciting.

When I moved back south the first thing I looked into was Capitals tickets. The Cpaital Center was long gone but the new arena right downtown on the metro -- that was convenient. There wasn't much down there those first few years, we hung out at The Rock and often so did the players. But once you have the access and start attending live games regularly, it is hard to explain but there is this irrational devotion that comes over you. Now in the height of popularity, I sometimes miss those empty arena games when I first moved here but the people I have met and the fun we have had. The stories and memories...what can say, Go Caps!!!

January 03, 2012

Carole's 10 on Tuesday topic for the week is 10 Things You Want to Do in 2012, I guess it is sort of a bucket list for the year. Let's see

Travel to Europe I spent last year having stay-cations and saving my money because I was going to Europe this year and even though some situations have changed I am going to travel this year. I was making a list of things to get done this week and one of those was booking a spring vacation to either Spain or Italy.

Make 12 pairs of socks I didn't do so well on this goal for 2011 but I think if I focus a little more on knitting in those odd moments that I can do it. I have a couple of pairs of last years socks that are finished that I need to post about but will get those out of the way in the next couple of weeks and hopefully I can keep to a schedule of one pair a month.

Run the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon It looks as if they have changed the date of this race (and one must assume the Epcot International Wine and Food Festival) from the first weekend in October which works well if I am still teaching at my current location to the second weekend in November. This makes things a little more tricky to schedule (as does the fact that DIsney doesn't seem to be all that great at updating their websites. The food festival site is from 2010 and the 2012 WIne and Dine half marathon brings up 2011 information. Maybe I should be looking at the DestinationRaces Wine Country Race series...why are races so expensive?

Travel to Wine Country in California Too bad the Napa to Sonoma race is already sold out as that would kill two birds with one stone. It has been too long since I have been to Northern California and I would definitely like to see how wine country in CA compares with our little mom and pop wine industry here in VIrginia.

Go on more hikes There was a time in my life when I would go hiking at least three times a month until the snow came. It was a rare Sunday that Deb and I didn't get out of bed as early as we could after shutting down the bar the night before in order to tromp through the woods and mountains of Vermont. Since moving to Virginia, the hiking has been much less frequent and I'd like to get it back on the schedule

While we are at it, I didn't take my bike out once last year...Go on more bike rides.

Continue my tour of Virginia Wineries My partner in wine is out of the country for a couple of years and unable to get to many of the Virginia wineries and so I hope to continue our quest and hopefully document it here.

Make Pasta Every time I enter into one of the eating local challenge, I think maybe this is the season I will attempt to make homemade pasta -- It isn't supposed to be hard, I guess I just might need a gadget or two.

Fix up the House I got a head start with this one by having the windows replaced this past year but on the list is upgrading my electrical and getting the place painted and the floors refinished and once that is done we will consider updating the kitchen depending on the financial situation.